Light propagation along periodic metal–dielectric layers

Abstract

Analysis and experiments on TE and TM waves along periodically laminated metal–dielectric layers are described; the waves propagate parallel to the layers. Aluminum (Al) and silica (SiO₂) are chosen as the metal and the dielectric, respectively. We find that the attenuation for TE waves is much higher than that for TM waves. Typically, α_TE/α_TM ranges from 10³ to 10⁴. Thus, an optical polarizer can be made in a multilayer structure.